How Information Technology (IT) Can Impact Marketing Strategy
Information technology in marketing- The industrial revolution, which began in the second half of the 19th century, marked the beginning of a widespread application of technology in business. Significant increases in marketing productivity required a class of new technology.
Work in marketing is about directing organizations according to the best way to satisfy customers. In short, marketing feeds on information, so that sellers know what buyers like and what they don’t like, they must observe their behavior, ask questions and ask for feedback.
And all should collect data on current or potential markets to determine their status and anticipate how likely change. In short, marketing is information driven.
The effective use of information improves marketing performance resulting in:
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a better understanding of the consumer allows the buyer to develop products that are better matched to the buyer
Better prices: What customers are willing to pay for a product depends on how much they value it. Knowing the importance of a product to the consumer and what resources they have to buy it helps sellers to set attractive prices.
Better distribution: the probability of having a product when and where the consumer wants it increases if the seller knows their buying habits and their prices.
Better promotion: a product and its benefit is communicated in many ways. Both the form and content of advertisements and other promotions are improved if marketers understand why and what the consumer expects.
Better implementation: Quick feedback on the merchandising control program allows managers to evaluate their performance and make adjustments before the amount of losses increases or opportunities are lost.
Today numerous technological advances have had a significant effect on marketing. In this blog I try to talk a little about network applications that have been introduced as a powerful tool in marketing.
It was created in the early 1970s as part of a US government project. Its original purpose was to bring together researchers from many different places and allow them to exchange information.
In 1989, the WORLD WIDE WEB network was created, which offered access to a part of the internet and allowed users to share a wide range of communications, from text to illustrations and audio messages.
Any individual today can create and register a site on the Internet, which is a set of files headed by a home page and reached through a unique address.
Electronic networks are organizations or individuals linked to share data, exchange information and ideas, and perform tasks. This arise when individuals or organizations are linked by some means of telecommunication.
When a company reconfigures its market operations around empowered interactions with its online value chain, it is engaged in e-commerce. It is a complex network that can link many companies at different levels of a distribution channel in what is called an extranet.
Transforming the network into a marketing tool was made possible by several important advancements. The most basic is the browser, which gives the internet visitor the application program they need to view and interact with the sites.
One of the characteristics of the Internet is the ease of access to more complete and timely information. It is clear that the ability to make comparisons on the Internet requires online companies to be aware and sensitive to the offers and prices that other sellers offer online.
Now customers can gather information from online comparisons and use it in negotiations with traditional sellers.
One of the factors that have been most impacted by the Internet is communication between buyers. Marketers recognize that word-of-mouth advertising is a powerful force, as it is viewed as the objective evaluation of a third party who gains or loses nothing from the decision to buy. Of course this publicity can be positive or negative.
Thus, companies spend considerable effort promoting positive word-of-mouth advertising and counteracting unfavorable impressions that could lead to negative word-of-mouth advertising.
The Internet has created many opportunities. New businesses were created to offer portals and servers to increase access to the network. Other businesses, such as Amazon and eBay, use technology to serve their customers in new ways.
In addition to creating new businesses, the network has changed the existing way of doing business. Companies of all levels of distribution have created their own websites using any top eCommerce website builders to communicate with other businesses and consumers and to conduct transactions.
It is clear that the internet has a strong impact on business. We will explore some specific marketing strategy implications below.
Like all good marketers, companies that turn to the Internet want to segment their markets and focus on selected goals. Gathering data on data about visits and visitors to the online site is a useful place to start.
There are other research techniques for identifying segments that consist of collecting data by electronic observation of site visitors. One method, called grouping, tracks the pages visited, the time spent on each one, and the items purchased when browsing the site.
The capabilities of the internet allow marketers to reconsider how they target and target their markets. Rather than competing on price, service marketers are learning how to use internet technology to improve their products.
For example, General Motors added an internet link to its Onstar system, which combines a car phone with a global positioning kit to provide travel information and emergency assistance.
The added feature allows the driver to listen to an individualized mix of news, personalized traffic reports, and personal email messages.
The attractiveness of the network for manufacturers is in getting closer to the final consumer. By selling online and eliminating intermediaries, manufacturers of commercial and consumer products decide what items they present, how they present them, and what levels of service accompany it.
Some of the approaches adopted by manufacturers to avoid conflicts over the internet and related channels are:
A major attraction of selling online is the reduction in overhead costs that often translate into lower prices. For retailers, inventory is reduced or eliminated because most orders can be shipped directly from the manufacturer to the consumer.
A website without visitors is a waste of money. Equally ineffective is a site without the right visitors. Part of the problem lies in the number of sites and the fact that search engines cannot keep up with all of them.
The problem is attracting the right audience to the site. Several methods have been tried:
Headbands on other Internet sites : A headband is a promotional message in a box that usually appears at the top of an Internet page.
Pop-ups and Pop-unders: This is a format that creates a new browser window, either in front of the site that the navigator is seeing (pop-ups) behind it (pop-under).
Portals Agreements: For a fee, portals give a site a prominent place when a visitor undertakes an appropriately targeted search.
Sponsorship: For a sponsorship fee, an advertiser receives a permanent spot on the host site.
Select email: With this method a company directs emails to current or potential customers inviting them to visit the site.
Affiliate Promotions: With this system, a company links to related sites on its site, usually in exchange for a commission on the sales produced by the deal.
The Internet and the information economy pose great challenges for marketers. Many of the traditional strategies have become obsolete, so today the companies that find the means to overcome these obstacles are the ones that have a chance of succeeding in the long term.
The Internet shows how valuable information can be. Someone who plans to buy a computer and can buy the prices of several sellers has an advantage in negotiations. Similarly, a supplier of a component to a manufacturer who is aware of its production schedule can reduce its inventory costs.
Another issue of information is quality, there are very few regulations on the Internet and practically no standards. As a result, fraud is very common.
Delighted with technology and the ability to transact, some online marketers forget the importance of service. Pre-sale information, operating instructions, and post-sale troubleshooting often receive little attention.
Providing a service can be the biggest obstacle for companies considering going online. Many of the most successful internet retailers have found that the combination of store and online access is the best formula.
It is difficult to create a climate of trust on the internet. The difficulty comes from the novelty and intangibility of the network. With no store or employees to speak to in person, it’s no wonder customers are hesitant to provide personal or financial information.
Privacy concerns center on how data is collected and used about Internet surfers. This data is collected in various ways. Many of the companies do this by means of a cookie, a file placed on the hard drive of the visitor’s computer that automatically records when the person connects, the frequency of visits to a site and the duration of each visit.
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